Man locks himself out of car, then refuses to pay technician for his services, so he gets locked back out again: 'I threw his keys in the car and locked the doors'

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
May 21, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

When you're left high and dry, locked out of your car, you might not want to make demands on an overworked technician.

One person stormed into a technician's shop, demanding they help him unlock the car that he had managed to lock himself out of. The technician was more than just a little annoyed because A. the customer had a demanding tone about him and B. it was almost closing time, so why should he help? Plus, the dude was with his girlfriend, who had a car, so it wasn't the end of the world if he helped him in the morning. It wasn't like he would be stranded, far from home. Still, being kindhearted, he got into his truck and followed the dude to his car. He thought maybe he had groceries in there or something. Why else would he be so frantic about it?

Well, he arrived, and wouldn't you know it… no groceries. Scroll down to read what happened next and then check out this grandma who used her spare key to try sneaking into her son's apartment, leading the whole family to get even with her.

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  • 01
    "I got in my truck and drove away."
    via Canva
  • 02
    If you're and refuse to pay, we have the right to refuse services, even after they're done
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 03
    So I was in the shop one day, a customer was in getting some keys copied, nice and simple job. Suddenly while I've got the machine running, some shirtless guy comes in looking really frantic. I tell him I'll be just a minute longer, then I finish the keys, and send the first customer on his way. Frantic dude: "jeez, took you long enough, I need you to come unlock my car"
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 04
    I'm already a little annoyed since its almost closing time, but I just figure he's got a kid/dog/groceries in the car and give him the benefit of the doubt. Me: "No problem, where is it?" FD: "A couple miles that way, my girlfriend drove me over here. You can follow us to it." I get some info from him, the kind of car it is, his name/number/address in case we get separated, etc.
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 05
    FD: "My phone's in the car so if you call it I won't answer" Me: "Then how about your girlfriend's number?" FD: "Hers is in there too" Well ok then Since it's pretty much closing time, I just go ahead and set the alarm and lock the doors as I leave, he doesn't like this and starts saying how I'm taking forever. Yeah yeah, take a chill pill, 5 extra seconds won't kill you.
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 06
    I get in my truck and follow him out there, when we get there I grab my tools and head to the car. Surprisingly, there's nothing in there except for the keys on the seat. No kids or dogs, so now I'm just hoping it's actually their car. FD: "You'd better not mess up my doors, this is a classic" Yeah, a classic Ford POS I open it up in about 10 seconds and check the insurance card, and yup it's their car. I pick up the keys and go over to him, tell him it's $40, and he just looks at me dumbfounded
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 07
    FD: "Wait you mean I have to pay for this?" Ummm, yeah? Me: "Yes sir, we charge a service call when we have to go out to the location." FD: "Well I'm not paying for that, you did it in 10 seconds, I could've done that myself if I'd have known" Me: "Well I'm sorry, but I can't do this for free."
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 08
    I could've, but there was no real urgency like a life endangered, plus he was about the whole thing. We normally would just bill someone in the situation, but we've been burned too many times, so we'll only do that for companies. FD: "I'm not paying for that, I don't have any money" Me: "Then if you think you can do it yourself, go for it." I throw his keys in the car, lock the doors, shut it behind me, and leave. I get home about ten minutes later, then after probably an hour he calls back.
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 09
    FD: "I can't get it open, come back and open my car again" Me: "I can go out again, but I'll have to charge you for two service calls." FD: "F- you I'm not paying you 80 bucks" Me: "Then you can call out other locksmith nearby, I'm sure he'll be happy to help y-" click I didn't tell him, but they charge $100 to unlock cars. Never heard back from him
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 10
    ForeverAdorable I would have been disappointed if you hadn't locked his keys in his car after he refused to pay. Good on you for standing your ground. 6.0k Share yolo-yoshi. Seriously, F K people like that! I too would've been upset if he didn't do that. 642 Share
    via u/ForeverAdorable, u/yolo-yoshi
  • 11
    [deleted] I didn't tell him, but they charge $100 to unlock cars I was about to say, $40 sounds too generous to unlock a car 3.7k Share [deleted] I got mine done for $40 once, cash. However, as a stupid teenager, I had gotten him out there by calling my insurance company, because my mom's insurance covered roadside assistance.
    via u/deleted
  • 12
    Yeah, that guy got paid twice. He just popped the door open, said, "That'll be $40," and left. I'm sure if I mentioned the insurance company paying him already, he would have just played dumb, like, "Oh, right, I forgot." I didn't even think about it until the next year when I did the same thing, tried to pay the (different) locksmith, and he kindly turned down my money. 704 Share
    via u/deleted
  • 13
    itstheleviathan OP. Some insurance companies pay us directly, some reimburse the customer, but the latter is pretty rare. If you have roadside assistance on your insurance then they should cover it, and usually they call us themselves. 351 Share
    via u/itstheleviathan
  • 14
    literal- I was hoping for: "I'll have to charge you for two service calls, and an extra out of hours charge." 913 Share itstheleviathan OP I would've, but we advertise 24/7 service, so we don't charge any extra for night or weekend calls 638 Share
    via u/itstheleviathan, u/literal-
  • 15
    Call_Me_Feefer It took ten seconds because you know what you're doing and he doesn't, that's also why you have to pay for services, skilled vs unskilled. 819 Share 1-05457. Also, it was 10 seconds plus the time it took to drive there and back. 544 Share
    via u/Call_Me_Feefer, u/1-05457
  • 16
    Evilution602. I say, it's a few grand in tools, a few grand in training plus a few years experience to know what tool to put where for a 10 second job. I also could have sent the new guy who takes 30 to 40 minutes to do anything. 273 Share itstheleviathan OP. For unlocking cars, the complete set(with probably 40 tools that I only ever use 3 of depending on the car) costs 200 bucks. The rest of it's just experience and a license to do it.
    via u/itstheleviathan, u/Evilution602
  • 17
    coatrack68. I don't know, $40 doesn't really seem like a lot to fix a fɩk up, like locking my keys in my car... 252 Share itstheleviathan OP We really only charge for the drive time, the actual unlocking is done in under a minute 95% of the time 160 Share
    via u/itstheleviathan, u/coatrack68
  • 18
    Gimletson No, I sell matresses I've only had one customer not pay me, but since she was obviously poor and suffering from the mental overload that poverty imposes I handed over her keys. I also gave her some practical advice on how to not get in that situation again. She got a 20 from a family member, and I made her a spare key that would work her door. I've had several others that didn't want to pay me, but I sit in their driver's seat filling out my invoice with their keys in my hand. If they
    via u/Gimletson
  • 19
    itstheleviathan OP. I've given it for free to people a few times for the same reason you did, but this is the only unlock I've had so far that I've had to do this. 74 Share FluffySharkBird. You're a nice person. 22 Share
    via u/itstheleviathan, u/FluffySharkBird
  • 20
    Auricom93. Seems like the guy needed a dose of reality. Nothing in life is free, pal. 311 Share dart22. It's the same mindset of businesses that hire a contractor and theck with the payments after services are rendered. "I have the upper hand so I'm going to use it." 22 Share
    via u/Auricom93, u/dart22
  • 21
    ashesarise. On the flipside. I had to wait like 4 hours for a locksmith to arrive once. I gave them pretty simple instructions and a address. I have access to 3 different GPS systems and checked google while I was waiting. There was nothing wrong with that address. They just couldn't find it for the longest time. When they finally got there, they tried to charge double because of the amount of time they wasted. Yeah... thats not how that works. I eventually got half price after telling them to j
    via u/ashesarise
  • 22
    itstheleviathan OP That happened to me once, but it was because no GPS systems showed it in the wrong place, and she had a thick accent and wasn't great at giving directions. I finally found her after over an hour of driving in circles looking for where she's saying to turn. When something like that happens I just wouldn't charge them since it was on me, charging double is just s my. 27 Share
    via u/itstheleviathan

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